WTF?!?!

As I discovered from researching the numerous links, myfonts.com recently released a new application for the iPhone called “WhatTheFont.” It automatically identifies an unknown font from a picture taken on the iPhone. When I was searching through hundreds of articles trying to come up with an idea for this current event post, this caught my eye, but I think for the wrong reasons. There is a review from ilovetypography.com and designworkplan.com.
What I instinctively thought was, who could ever possibly take this application seriously? Like, honestly? Fonts? However, because I wanted to get the full story, I kept researching the app and its creator. Myfonts.com was created ten years ago as, well, a database for fonts. One can type in a keyword and the search will bring up a number of related fonts that they deem usable for your task. For example, the example they give on the website is that you can search “invitations” and they will come up with fonts typically used for invitations. The fonts are all available for purchase. Another structure on the website is the WhatTheFont feature, where you upload photos and their database scans and matches the unknown font with the most similar types in their collection. They are usually right, too, because they have over 10,000 fonts.
Clearly, myfonts.com saw a demand for a WhatTheFont application on the iPhone, and they delivered. Even though I read through and examined the format of the website, I was still a bit skeptical so I looked through the reviews in the iTunes store of the application (all 28 of them). The application is free, and as one user described it,

“At $5 an app, it would have been rad. As a free one, it’s like a Christmas present.”

I guess I completely overlooked the huge graphic design industry, and didn’t realize what a valuable tool this could be for graphic designers. I also forgot to realize that all graphic designers would have iPhones…obviously, how could I be so stupid? No, but seriously, from the rave reviews of the actual application (they are on the iTunes store, I don’t know how to link to it though, sorry!) I gather that these designers see fonts that they like while out and about. Finally, they have a way to identify them immediately. One designer used to take pictures and upload them to myfonts.com later to identify on WhatTheFont. However, that is no longer necessary, since myfonts.com came out with this application.
This application was released on the third of February, and I wish I could tell you it’s on the iTunes top 100 list for free apps. However, if I did that, I would be lying. It would not be a lie, however, to say that after this research, I realize why this would be a successful app. The market is clearly there, and I guess that once you think like a graphic designer, different fonts and designs catch your eye constantly. As Professor Hedges constantly says, we need to be start thinking like designers and these are the types of things designers notice. This app may not be on the top 100, but I’m sure it’s number one in the hearts of designers everywhere!

L E T T E R

We’re bombarded by thousands of typefaces every day, yet I’ve never really given much thought to the meaning behind them. I blame this on years of having to write papers in Times New Roman.

This chapter opened my eyes to typeface as an art form. It was interesting to find that typeface, like any other traditional art form, both influenced and was influenced by our changing society. Fonts were created with a purpose, survived criticism, and began movements.

Having just watched The Office, I was curious to know which font the creators chose for its logo.



In my search I came across WhatTheFont, an online font-recognition system. I uploaded an image of the logo and determined the font to be American Typewriter, which fits the theme of the mockumentary and incidentally goes to show how technology has shaped the art of typeface.